Posts Tagged ‘ toys ’

Deb Jacobson of the Printers’ National Environmental Assistance Center responds:

The formulations for inks were modified MANY years ago to reduce or eliminate pigments that contain heavy metals (particularly lead). Cardboard is typically printed with water-based flexographic inks and the adhesives used to make the cardboard are water and cornstarch based. Basically you could ingest it for extra roughage if you so chose (as do the bunnies).

The newsprint is typically printed with oil-based offset inks (most common) or water based flexographic inks and low grade paper. The paper grade used for newspapers is a good thing because they have used less bleaching chemicals and less processing to make the paper. The same is true for the corrugated paper.

I would suggest you withhold the slick paper, multi-color ads. The newsprint with black ink or newsprint with a few pages of colored ink is fine. One reason is the paper they use may be a higher grade (more bleaching chemicals used). The other reason is the pigments in the colored inks. Some pigments still contain “compounds” of chemicals that I would not want my “baby” to consume.

What kinds of cages work best?

Rabbits were not designed to live on wire floors – they’re hard on their feet (which have no pads on them, like cats or dogs).  If you must use a cage with a wire floor, you need to provide your rabbit with a resting board or rug for her to sit on; otherwise she will spend all her time in her litterbox.

You can find cages with slatted plastic floors, which are more comfortable, or you can use a solid floor.  If your rabbit has a litterbox in their chosen “bathroom” corner, there shouldn’t be much of a mess to clean up.

What size cage is best?

Bigger is better!  A cage should be at least 4 times the size of your bunny – more if he is confined for a large amount of the day.  Be sure the cage is large enough to allow space for a litterbox, food and water bowls, etc, and still allow the rabbit enough room to stretch out completely.  It should also be tall enough that your rabbit can stretch up without his ears hitting the top.  If the cage has a wire floor, be sure to provide something solid, like a towel, newspaper, or board, for your rabbit to lie on.

What can I do to make my rabbit’s cage time more enjoyable?

A cage should be seen as the rabbit’s “nest”, a special place where he can feel safe and secure.  Make the nest enjoyable and he will enjoy being there, even when the cage door is open.  Keep it stocked with toys, a synthetic sheepskin rug, a piece of wood attached to the inside (like a baseboard), and when you put him to bed at night, a nice veggie or fruit snack.

Can my new bunny run around my house 24 hours a day?

An untrained rabbit probably should be kept in a cage while you’re not home to supervise and at night when you sleep.  Rabbits are crepuscular, which means that generally they sleep during the day and during the night but are ready to play at dawn and at twilight.  Be sure to let them out during the evening when you are home, and if possible, in the mornign while you get ready for work.

When your rabbit is better trained, and when your house (or the part that your rabbit will have access to) has been sufficiently bunny-proofed, your rabbit can be allowed free run of the home (or part of it) even when you are not home.  The more room your rabbit has to run around in, the more delightful you will find her as a companion.

What can I do to make my rabbit’s exercise time more enjoyable?

First, remember that your rabbit depends on you for companionship.  It is important to spend time with him, ideally on the floor where they can hop up to you when they choose.

Even when a rabbit has a lot of room to run around, he may still get bored.  A bored rabbit is often a naughty rabbit.  If you don’t make every attempt to provide your rabbit with lots of entertainment, then he will make his own entertainment in your carpet, behind your couch or under your recliner.

Toys not only aid in keeping your rabbit out of trouble, they also provide mental stimulation and exercise for your rabbit.  Some good toys to start with are:

• Hiding toys: cardboard boxes, tunnels, paper bags
• Chew toys: untreated hardwood, untreated wicker baskets, grass mats, cardboard paper tubes
• Toss toys: baby keys, many parrot toys
• Noisemakers: cat toys with bells inside, baby rattles

Can I let my rabbit run loose outside?

Because domestic rabbits have limited defenses for the many dangers found outdoors; it is best for the rabbit to be kept indoors.   However, a limited amount of time outside is usually safe if you:

• Always supervise your rabbit closely when she’s outside
• Make sure that the grass has not been sprayed with pesticides or fertilizers
• Check the yard for holes in the fence and poisonous plants
• Only allow your pet rabbit outside during the daylight hours

by J-J Newman Rode

Almost all rabbits like to play, even those who are getting on in years and seem most content to just eat and sleep. Even rabbits who come from neglect situations eventually figure out what the toys are and how to play with them. All of us have seen the wild abandon with which our buns run, leap and twist in the air as well as any Olympic gymnast. It is so wonderful that at times it can bring tears to your eyes!

Toys provide more than fun for our rabbits. They are a necessity for a healthy rabbit, providing mental stimulation and physical exercise, and they can work wonders in bunny-proofing your house. A rabbit who is provided with plenty of chewing and digging alternatives is much less likely to chew baseboards and dig up carpet. A bored bun is very often a destructive bun.

So how do you choose a good toy for your rabbit? Watch your buns and use your imagination! By giving them toys that satisfy their individual personalities, you are providing mental and physical stimulation, protecting your house and giving your bunny a lot of good, plain fun.

Pushers, Folders, Bunchers:

A few towels or a fluffy blanket on the floor can entertain these buns for hours. Some of these buns also love to tear holes in the fabric, so do watch and make sure there aren’t dangling strings, etc. that the bunny could eat. Also, make certain that the rabbit is not eating the fabric.

Chewers:

Many rabbits that are abandoned at shelters are there because of chewing. There are all kinds of good toys for serious chewers. A great selection can be found at on-line retailers. Our buns all have cardboard ‘houses’ with multiple rooms and sometimes multiple floors—I’m the construction crew and the buns are the deconstruction crew! Best yet, these construction materials are both easy to obtain and easy to recycle.

Shredders:

Phone books are also popular at our house. They make such a nice sound when the pages rrrrrip!! Everyone at my office saves their old phone books for me, and that usually lasts us until the next year. Untreated wicker baskets, paper towel rolls and apple tree twigs are also a big hit. And, all the rabbits love it when I cut some small pieces of untreated pine 2×4 and boil them up with some beets. Let the wood pieces dry and voila!! Safe and delicious chew blocks.

Throwers:

It never fails to make me laugh when a bun starts throwing things around. Of course, I have to get in on the game then, and we can play ‘catch’ for quite some time. Good throwing toys include wire cat balls with (or without) bells inside and a whole variety of plastic baby toys-keys, small plastic cups, etc. One of our buns’ favorites are a couple of small cowbells. It seems as if the more noise the rabbits can make, the happier they are. Of course, sometimes I have to put the cowbells away for my peace of mind!

Diggers:

Digging is one of the most serious activities to channel away from your house and into some type of play toy. Provide the digger with a digging box. Take a cardboard box and fill it with shredded paper, hay, old catalogs or the like. Our most serious digger also uses her digging box as a litter box, so for her I use a large, plastic storage box with high sides and fill it 1/3 full with recycled paper litter. (I originally used a small children’s wading pool, which she loved, but I got too tired of lugging it in and out, to and from the compost pile!)

Carpet Diggers:

Replacing wall-to-wall carpet is not cheap. The easiest way to protect carpet is to place heavy ceramic tiles in the corners and to get plastic runner material that is used in hallways to prevent carpet wear. Cut it to size and cover the areas where your rabbit wants to dig. He or she can still dig, but it won’t do any harm. At our house, these areas are behind the couch and under the bed. But, if it’s a more obvious spot at your house, it is very easy to just pick up the plastic or ceramic tiles if you have company.

Litter Box Diggers:

While this does no harm, it can be very annoying! An easy way to prevent this is to get some wire mesh from the hardware store (we use 2”x4” mesh) and cut a grate that sits in the box on top of the litter. Other options involve purchasing dish drainers or needlepoint plastic canvas from local retailers. Anything that will allow urine and feces to fall through will work.

For more information, see “More than Just a Chew Stick” by Margo DeMello.

Some Good Bunny Toys

• Paper bags and cardboard boxes for crawling inside, scratching and chewing. Bunnies like them much more when there are at least two entry points into the box.
• Cardboard concrete forms for tunneling.
• Paper towel and toilet paper rolls (especially stuffed with hay!).
• Untreated wicker baskets or boxes full of shredded paper, junk mail, straw or other organic materials for digging.
• Old phone books for shredding.
• Wire balls and other cat toys that roll or can be tossed (but not eaten).
• Parrot toys that can be tossed or hung from the top of a cage and chewed or nudged.
• Hard plastic (not teething) baby toys like cups, rattles and keys that can be tossed.
• Children’s or birds’ mobiles for bumping and nudging.
• “Critter Castles” (2-story cardboard boxes with ramps and windows) to climb in and chew on. Also, kitty condos, tubes, tunnels and trees.
• Nudge and roll toys like large rubber balls, empty oatmeal boxes and small tins.
• Rings from canning jar lids are great for throwing and making noise.
• “Busy Bunny” brand toys.
• Plastic slinkies.
• Toys with ramps and lookouts for climbing and viewing the world.
• Dried pine cones.
• Cleaned and dried laundry bottle lids.
• Little kids’ jungle-gym type toys.
• Whisk brooms or heads from larger straw brooms (after they’ve been chewed too much to sweep with
  anymore!)
• Towels and small washable cotton rugs for bunching and scooting.
• Untreated wood, twigs and logs that have been aged for at least 3 months. Apple tree twigs can be eaten fresh. Avoid other fruit trees, many of which are poisonous.
• Untreated sea grass or maize mats from places like Pier One or Cost Plus World Market.
• Things to jump up on (many buns like to be in high places!).